Death Comes Mysteriously To Some
by iwandamonian
Summary: Robin Hood dies, but his best friend Peter, has two sisters. One takes his place as the legend, and begins the battle for justice. Does Kathryn have the guts to take on Nottingham and the Sherwood bandits? Based from movie.


The boat ride was long and strenuous; every passenger was wary of the Moore travelling with the English nobleman with the resigned eyes. After seeing his best friend murdered in Jerusalem, Robin of Locksley had withdrawn from the world as much as he could, although he still had a duty. He had promised Peter that he would look after his two sisters, Marian and Kathryn, and Azeem had held him back as the dying Englishman ran towards his death. The odd pair had then bought passage back to England, and Azeem thought it best if he pretended to be Robin's slave. Once they reached English sand, and after Robin embarrassed himself by rolling around on the sand for a bit, they headed toward Locksley Manor, where his father lived.

Along the way, Azeem had stopped to pray to Allah, and Robin had watched him until he heard shouts and cursing. A young boy had been chased by soldiers, and was trapped in a tree on Robin's land; of course he had helped the boy, and killed four of the soldiers in the process. And he'd met Guy of Gisborne, the Sheriff of Nottingham's cousin. When he had given Gisborne his message, they had resumed their trek to Robin's home.

Unfortunately, when they got there, his father was dead, and his servant, Duncan, had had his eyes taken rather forcefully. After taking down his father and burying him, Robin, Azeem and Duncan had gone to find Peter's family, the Dubois. The trio had been allowed to enter, but not until they had deposited their weapons to the servants. Robin found Marian outside in the open courtyard, sewing and humming away ignorantly. Robin snuck up behind her and pressed two fingers into her side; she screamed as she leapt to her feet, whirling around and staring at him.

She gasped as she recognised him. "Robin!" she breathed and he smiled at her cockily. He stared at Marian, taking in how much she'd grown and developed; she was wearing a blue dress and her dark curly hair was tied up at the back of her head. Her eyes were searching for her brother, and then they fell back on Robin. "Where's Peter?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Robin's insides crumpled and he sat down in rush, putting his head between his knees. "He died, Marian," he said softly. "He died thinking of you and Kathryn…where is she?" He looked up and saw Marian scowling, her eyes darker than normal. "Marian?"

The lady sighed in exasperation. "She's probably out sparring with some men," she replied sourly. "Ever since you and Peter left, she's been gallivanting around the country and practising with weapons. She comes home bruised, bleeding and exhausted, and won't tell me what she's been up to." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm worried about her, Robin. She's only nineteen, and the men she's around are less than worthy of the name." She sighed and sat down on the broken stone wall. "She's become a handful, like what you and Peter were like before the Crusade."

Robin had to laugh. "That bad?" he jested and Marian smirked. "Well, you've got your hands full, haven't you?" He laughed again. "How are _you,_ Marian?" he asked quietly as Azeem scaled the tall wall that was a boundary for the manor.

Marian laughed bitterly. "So now you care?" She laughed again.

"I do," he said quietly. "The Crusades taught me that, in a harsh way." He smiled sadly and then looked at her, his face going blank.

"You look like her," she said suddenly. "Kathryn, she has your eyes, and your cheeks and your nose. But not as manly; I'd probably disown her if she developed your everything." She laughed, as did Robin but they stopped when someone screamed her name. Both looked up to see a muddy youth riding full pelt towards them on an exhausted brown stallion, and when it came to a stop, the youth launched off its back and sprinted towards the pair.

"What is it, Kathryn?" Marian asked, getting to her feet.

"Kathryn?" Robin asked incredulously as he closely examined the boy. Underneath the mud he saw the face of a young girl with short mouse brown hair and bright grey eyes; she was tall, taller than Marian by a few inches, and she was slender though not skinny.

"Who're you?" she asked, frowning at him as Marian went to fetch a wet cloth.

"Robin of Locksley," he replied, bowing mockingly.

"Oh!" Kathryn exclaimed and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. He laughed and returned the sentiment, holder her close and then twirling her around. She was beaming at him, but then it faded slowly as her eyes searched for, he undoubtedly presumed, her brother. "Peter died, didn't he?" she asked quietly, and he saw the tears in her eyes; but they did not fall.

"He died an honourable death, and his last thoughts were of you and your sister." He cupped her dishevelled face in his calloused hands and smiled sadly at her. "He wants you to be happy…but from what Marian tells me you are."

"Yeah, but she's not." Kathryn wiped her grimy nose on the back of her sleeve. "She wants me to wear dresses and attend annual functions but I'm not suited for that life. I'm better at fighting injustice and shooting targets; I'm really good, too, or so says my friends."

"Yes, your friends." Robin stared down at her. "Are they worthy men?"

"Yeah."

"Do they treat you with a lady's respect?"

"No, 'cause they think I'm a boy."

"What?" Robin asked just as Marian came back and handed her sister a wet cloth. "They think you're a boy?" Kathryn nodded as she wiped away the grime from her face, and then she looked at him; his breath caught. Marian was right: she did look like him, only a little. He could still clearly see that she was female, although if he didn't know her he'd probably say she was a very effeminate boy.

"It's safer that way, although I'm thinking of ditching them. They always get me into trouble, and today we…" She bit off the rest of her sentence as she looked at Marian and then hung her head.

"What did you do now?" her older sister asked irately. "You didn't steal anything again, or free a pig?"

"No, we, um…" Kathryn took a deep breath and looked her sister in the eye. "We got into a fight with Guy of Gisborne."

"Oh, dear," Marian sighed. "About?"

"He came back saying in a foul mood and pushed me into a mud puddle because id didn't move out of his way. The fellas started mouthing off to him and he got angry; he killed one of them and then they started fighting. I yelled at them to stop but they didn't listen; now he's sending men after us, and he'd going to kill everyone, even me."

"Oh, dear," Marian said again. "Kathryn, you really are an idiot sometimes."

"I know; it's why I was put on this Earth." She grinned mischievously and then frowned when she saw Robin's bemused expression. "What?' she asked.

"I met Guy of Gisborne this afternoon," he said. "And I killed some of his men. That's probably why he was so angry."

"Oh, dear," Marian said, and Kathryn sighed.

"Christian!" Azeem shouted from the wall, and Robin ran to him, closely followed by Kathryn. "Look," Azeem said, handing Robin a makeshift looking glass. Robin was startled, and he pulled out his sword as he saw the enlarged version of Guy and his men. Azeem scowled and snatched back his looking tube, muttering about how the English took Jerusalem.

"May I?" Kathryn asked, smiling at him. He nodded and handed it to her; she thanked him and looked through it. "Oh, bother," she said calmly and handed it back to him.

"What is it?" Marian called from the ground; the trio looked at each other and then leapt off the wall into a pile of hay, sliding down and running to Marian. Azeem ran passed her and was gone from view, gathering Duncan up kindly.

"Gisborne," Robin and Kathryn said in unison.

"Then you have to get out of here," Marian said, staring at Robin hard. She looked at her younger sister. "Robin, take Kathryn with you."

"What!" Kathryn cried. "No, I'm staying here!" She grabbed her sister's hand. "I won't abandon you, Marian, I won't."

"Yes, you'll die!" Marian sighed and briefly hugged her sister. She then looked imploringly at Robin. "Please take her with you; she's too young."

Robin, torn between upholding his friend's promise and getting to safety, stared at Kathryn; he grabbed her hand and then dragged her to the horses. Hers, Nutter as she had called him, galloped over and she mounted up, looking at her sister imploringly.

"Yah!" Robin yelled just as Guy and his men came storming round the corner. Kathryn tore her eyes from Marian's and rode after Robin and Azeem, with Duncan holding fast to the Moore. The three horses were pushed into a gallop, and took off across the expanse of the English countryside. The soldiers took chase, but slowly the escapees gained distance and soon were far ahead. The horses stood on the edge of a hill, looking over Sherwood Forest and contemplating what to do next. Robin's horse had been injured, an arrow sticking out of its rump, and he pulled it out; Azeem was looking through his looking glass.

"Are they gone?" Robin asked breathlessly.

A pause. "No, but they are far behind." He looked at the man. "We have to go, but my horse carries two, and yours is injured. We will not outrun them, Christian."

Robin looked at Kathryn, and then to Sherwood Forest. "Then we'll go into Sherwood Forest," he said, and turned his horse to do so. Duncan didn't seem to like this idea but as he was attached to Azeem, he had no choice; Kathryn rode behind the pair and cast nervous glances around her, wondering if the ghosts would attack the company. Robin led them into hiding, and they waited for Guy to show himself. He did a few minutes later, cursing Robin and his father.

"Bastard!" Robin yelled, and charged forward with his sword drawn. "My father was no devil worshipper!"

"Christian, no!" Azeem yelled in vain as the duel began. It was intense, and soon Guy was riding as fast as he could through the forest for a safe haven. Unfortunately Robin pursued, and Kathryn and Azeem lost sight of him.

"What do we do?" she asked quietly, knowing that the soldiers were close by. They had refused to come into Sherwood Forest but they would if the fugitives gave themselves away.

"We can only wait and pray to Allah that he comes back safe," Azeem said, giving her a full stare. She smiled at him and sighed, looking in the direction Robin and Guy had gone. Nerve wrecking minutes slowly went by until the trio heard someone yell in agony.

"Damn, that sounded like Robin!"

"Miss!" Azeem yelled, trying to grab her reins; as he did, Kathryn leapt off Nutter and sprinted through the undergrowth, careful to avoid detection from the soldiers. She slipped and skidded over the pine needles but after several heart pounding seconds she found a clearing where Guy and Robin had presumably duelled; Guy was nowhere to be seen, but Robin's horse lay dead on its side, its throat cut. Kathryn gasped, and held a hand over her nose; she looked around for any sign of her brother's friend and saw a boot.

"Locksley!" Kathryn cried and raced to his side; she blanched at the sight of him and took a small step back. Slowly, she sank to her knees and crawled to his side, lifting his cooling body into her lap.

"K-Kathryn," he whispered, and she looked down at him through her tears. "I don't think I'm going to keep Peter's promise," he said, barely audible. "I know I'm not going to last much longer…you have to be strong and help your sister." A smile crept over his blueing lips. "You have to keep Peter's promise; you're the only one who can." He lifted a freezing hand and held it to her moist cheek. "You have to take up arm and fight to I justice of Nottingham is causing. Promise me, Kathryn," he gasped desperately; she could see the light already leaving his eyes.

"I promise," she said, gripping his hand tight. "I promise, Robin." She rested her forehead against his as his eyes went dead, and took a deep shuddering breath as Azeem ran to her side, Duncan standing with their horses a few feet away.

"What happened?" he asked, looking from Robin's lifeless body to Kathryn's teary face. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she replied, her voice void of emotion. She gently pushed Robin's body from her lap and stood up, taking hold of his sword.

"What are you going to do?" Azeem asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kathryn looked at him with hard grey eyes. "I'm going to become Robin of Locksley and keep his promise to Peter. I'm going to stop the injustice for everyone, even if that means I die."


End file.
